Page 64 of The Dragon Shifters' Enemy
She hadn’t been told about where he’d been and what they’d found.He’d made Tilly keep that promise and she appeared to have honored it.Would she become his Councillor when she grew up?He was starting to think he’d be lucky to have her.
“Where did you head off to, Caden?”his father asked, looking happier and more mellow than he had in months, maybeyears.Without the pressure and unhappiness of his law firm career hanging over him, the impression he had earlier of his father seeming younger looked to be spot on.
“The Gray Mountains,” he said and sat on the chair that Wally pulled over to the table for him.
“Wine?”Wally offered.
Caden nodded.
“You’ve got to try these cheese puffs.They’re like crack,” Rose told him as she shifted a tray of little souffle-like balls.
He popped one into his mouth and chewed appreciatively.He immediately took a handful more.Rose was right.But his expression soon soured as he thought of telling them about Landry.He had a hard time swallowing the last cheese puff.
“You look like you have something on your mind, kid,” Wally said after studying his face.
“Is this a Councillor matter?”His mother lifted an eyebrow as if she was willing to take his father’s arm and leave the three of them alone.
“No, I meanyes, but I want you two to stay to hear it,” he told them.
Every word felt like a boulder that he was pushing uphill with his tongue. How could he tell them that Landry was dead?It would make itreal.
“I saw helicopters taking off,” Rose mentioned, her expression was studiously neutral.“Going towards the Gray Mountains, I think.Did something… ah… happen there?”
Caden sat down and wiped suddenly damp palms over his jeans.“Yeah.We found… we found a Humans First hideout in the mountains.”
There were murmurs of surprise all around.Rose’s forehead furrowed.Wally’s mustache twitched.
“But the Gray Mountains are sacred to Valerius!”His mother wrung her hands together.“Surely, they couldn’t have thought they’d be safe from discovery!”
Caden wondered at the arrogance and risk they all took.The Behemoth included.But Valerius had not found the wall.There was nothing to alert him to it.Until yesterday he had no idea such things as these walls existed.Once more, Caden was glad that he and Iolaire had bonded.This had spurred Anwar to visit and tell the other Dragon Shifters about what he’d found.It might have been months oryearsbefore he’d done that otherwise.
If he did it at all,Caden thought.
Caden pressed his lips together to stop them from trembling.His mind offered him that image of Landry’s questing hand.Had she been trying to ward something off?Or maybe she’d been trying to grab hold of something to stop herself from being dragged inside the wall.
“We also found awall,” he said and though the word “wall” likely hadn’t ever frightened any of them before, he saw that his tone caused them all to draw inward as if to protect themselves from what he had to say next.“This is aspecialwall…”
And he told them all what he knew.Reminding them about the wall in Anwar’s territory and the terrible things that had happened there.About the battle with the Behemoth.About their suspicions of what it was doing to stir up more trouble.
Finally, he spoke of Celestine and her Falcon Shifters heading over to the next pass from Valinor. He told them of only her return and what she’d said.“Wall”. “Death”.He explained how he and Valerius had gone to that valley and found what was hidden there.A wall of death.
And then… then he told them about Landry.
Caden stared down at his hands as he spoke.He didn’t want to see their faces.He heard sharp intakes of breath.His mother suppressed a sob.His father gave out a pained gasp.Wally openly cried.
“Even if she was with Humans First no one should go like that,” his mother whispered hoarsely.
He knew that his mother’s view of Landry had changed since she was ostensibly working for people that wanted to hurt and use Caden and Iolaire.
“You think she’s gone too, Mom?”he asked.
She opened her mouth likely to say “of course!”But maybe seeing something in his own face she turned that into, “I don’t know.But it would seem… likely, wouldn’t it?”
“Poor kid.”Wally brought out a large handkerchief and blew his nose with it.It honked like a horn and there were muted smiles all around.“She took a bad path.But I truly believe she would have found her way back.”
“Me, too,” Caden murmured.
He realized as he said it that he meant it.He believed Landry, if she hadn’t been planning a double-cross on Humans First, would have come around.He knew she had wanted to spare her brothers--were her brothers in the wall, too?--but the kind of violence that Jasper Hawes was intent on using to harm others wasn’t in her.She would have broken with them.
